“We fished the Buffer Zone on our first day,” wrote Excel skipper Justin Fleck April 18 of the previous day, “and picked up 26 tuna to 135 pounds and ten wahoo. There is good sign of mid grade fish here but no real showing on cows. We will give it one more day here to keep it honest before we make a move to the bank. Wish us luck.”

Zombie Bite

“We had what most consider a fairly normal day on the bank,” said the report from Royal Polaris. “Instead of a 9 P.M. to 6 A.M. frenzy, we did not have a night bite and instead had a good morning bite followed by a pick bite throughout the day and a nice flurry into early evening. Despite the no show in the dark, we had 39 tuna and 17 wahoo with two more over 200 pounds bringing the total to 23 over 200. Sue Beck had a 204 and Rob Creek bested his personal best for a third time with a 223-pounder.

“Since fishing was so good into the evening, very few stayed up for the night bite. I awoke at 3am to find an empty deck and despite feeling dead tired, dropped a bait and was immediately rewarded. What occurred next was like a scene form the Walking Dead. The passengers slowly crawled, limped and dragged themselves out of bed.

“…We managed to land 24 fish by 9 A.M. with three more over 200 pounds (now at 26 over 200). The survivors were Bill Nakaki 208, Vince Corbaci 203 and Clyde Smith at 221. The balance of the fish caught were very nice, between 130 to 195 pounds.

Home Packing Cows

Independence returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing April 17, after a good 16-day trip into southern waters, fishing for giant yellowfin tuna and wahoo. The jackpots were as follows, according to Judy Collins, office manager:

Alan Aoyama, Torrance, 220.8 pounds

Dale Lethcoe, Sundland, places 2 and 3, 218, 214.6 pounds

Day At The Docks

This important annual San Diego event comes this Sunday, April 21. Weather is predicted to be pleasant, in the low 70’s, with clear skies. Bring the family to see the many displays, booths with merchandise, food vendors and entertainment.

After the event, at five P.M., the Marine Group (who took over the dockyard business from Knight & Carver), will host a get-together for all dock activists and employees, captains and crew included, with free beer and tacos at Jimmy’s Tavern, according to skipper Andy Cates and the Red Rooster III office. Earlier in the day, Cates will offer himself and selected crewmen as targets for the "Dunk The Skipper" booth.

Supreme’s Fishing

“Today we had about 7 to 10 wahoo and several tuna,” said the reports from Polaris Supreme April 14, “four nice ones around 170 pounds, and some smaller ones (many released) 50 to 60 pounds. We lost four nice ones, two thought to be over 200 pounds. The guys are pretty tired putting in 36 hours of fishing time. Most only had three or four hours of sleep.”

The next day, April 15, the report said, “Scratched away for 16 wahoo. Weather is excellent. Didn't get much tuna until the end. We had fun kite fishing on frozen flying fish into the dark. We re-baited and have a good supply of bait tonight and have hopes of a better day in the morning.”

The Çure

Got yellow fever? Never fear, the cure is here. Bill Roecker offers a DVD with some of the best action you’d ever want to see on the decks of the Independence. “Yellow Fever” was shot last summer on a trip to The Ridge and The 23 Spot, where yellows from 18 to 40 pounds bit like crazy. They bit bait and surface and yoyo jigs like it was the last chance to eat for the next 300 miles. After anglers were nearly limited out, some enjoyed watching the crazed jacks fight with one another to smash a hookless surface jig! It makes a big wow factor for this video. Dorado and yellowfin tuna also provide entertainment and great eating on the way back north. Don’t miss “Yellow Fever,” here onsite and in tackle stores who carry Oceanic Productions and FishingVideos.com products.